The Outdoor Biz Podcast

160: Kay Henry-Tells us about starting a business from scratch, how to leverage key lucky moments and more

Released: May 7, 2019

Kay Henry is an entrepreneur with a focus on outdoor recreation in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. She was a co- founder of Mad River Canoe. Kay delivered a lifetime of outdoor biz knowledge in this episode. She talks about starting and growing your business from scratch, the importance of luck and more.

Kay Henry delivered a lifetime of outdoor biz knowledge in this episode.

First Exposure to the Outdoors

Growing up, my family had a summer home on Cape Cod, so I grew up swimming, sailing, waterskiing. I was kind of a total water rat. I didn't get much camping experience as they didn't like sleeping outdoors, but I did do girl scouts, summer camp and then in college got credit to camping.

I went to camp when I was younger and my first outdoor job actually was a camp counselor when I was in college. I taught in a French kids summer camp. That's where I learned to be fluent in French.

I would encourage people to think about networking as a key component of any personal development strategy. Another one might be authenticity. So again, that's a strength to develop, which is going to require some personal experience, time spent in the outdoors. And I think it's really important if you're going to look for a career in the outdoors, is to have been there too, have some understanding of needs and rhythms of the industry.

Also to empathize with others and understand really what they're talking about from self reliance. You know, there's just a lot. Another one is the willingness to follow a path that's not so straight. Let the lucky pieces happen, the opportunities and the risks to develop a career. One that's really rewarding to you personally and not just work.